The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetic peripheral neuropathy of both upper extremities due to an inadequate VA examination and opinion.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner failed to address whether the Veteran's symptoms caused functional impairment, did not reconcile her conclusion with a diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome, and was not asked to provide an etiological opinion as to direct service connection or aggravation by diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- Diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity, Diabetic peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 7, 2025
- Citation
- A25021487
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 915 · Granted: 38% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A25021487.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the R(1) rate due to his need for regular aid and attendance.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of April 17, 2023, for the award of service connection for diabetic peripheral neuropathy in all extremities.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for the ratings assigned for diabetic peripheral neuropathy in his right and left lower extremities, as well as his left upper extremity, were granted. The claim for a higher rating for his right upper extremity was also granted prior to May 25, 2023.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension as secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type 2 is granted.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for mild renal insufficiency is granted.,The Veteran's claims for disability ratings in excess of 10 percent for diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity and left lower extremity are denied.,The Veteran's claims for disability ratings in excess of 10 percent for diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity and left upper extremity are denied.
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